Microwave Systems Engineering

HardwareA student replaces a component on an integrated microwave downconverter

Building efficient microwave and millimeter-wave sensors requires in-depth knowledge of microwave engineering and electromagnetics.
Developing end-to-end knowledge of a system and its relationship to the scientific application is a crucial part of our students' educations.

Hyperspectral Imaging

Signal and Image ProcessingA hyperspectral data cube produced by an imaging spectrometer

Complex data sets require advanced signal processing and statistical methods to determine features of interest. Imaging spectrometers capture imagery simultaneously over hundreds of wavelength bands spanning IR to UV. The spectral information at each pixel is used to determine the composition of imaged materials.

Geophysical Applications

Field ExperimentationMIRSL's X-band polarimetric mobile Doppler radar at work on the Great Plains

MIRSL students routinely participate in field experiments where advanced technology is used to improve our understanding of the geophysical environment. Field work is an equally important aspect of the MIRSL experience.

Interdisciplinary Research

Building instruments and collecting data are not enough. The final product of MIRSL research is the interpretation of the observations that provides new insights into our environment. MIRSL students work directly with engineers and scientists in application areas including meteorology, oceanography, climate, and terrestrial ecology.

MIRSL students and engineers recently installed the second of two radar systems on the Orchard Hill tower. Shown at right is the final phase of installing the Low Power Radar (LPR), a phased-array developed by Raytheon and currently on loan to UMass. The LPR will be used to scan weather simultaneously with the UMaXX radar, which is a more conventional radar employing a mechanically-scanned antenna. Observations by the two radars will be compared to a

MIRSL has just re-installed an X-band weather radar atop the tower on Orchard Hill on the UMass campus. Formerly the platform for the CASA Engineering Research Center's prototype radar, the tower now houses the UMass eXperimental X-band radar (UMaXX). UMaXX will be used for weather observations and as a reference radar for polarimetric studies with a phased-array radar on loan to UMass from Raytheon under research funded by the National

MIRSL is collaborating with Raytheon in the advancement of phased-array radar technology for weather applications. Pictured at right is the "Low Power Radar," an X-band, dual-polarized, phased-array radar developed by Raytheon employing low power solid-state radiating elements. The array consists of 2560 individual antennas, each with arbitrary amplitude, phase, and polarization control. With support from the National Science Foundation, MIRSL is adapting t

MIRSL is participating in the 2016 Verification of the Origin of Rotation in Tornadoes EXperiment -- Southeast (VORTEX-SE) sponsored by NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory. During March and April 2016, MIRSL is deploying two mobile radar systems to northern Alabama to study the environment both leading up to and during severe weather outbreaks that can produce tornadoes. MIRSL is partnering with the Purdue University Department of Earth Atmosphere and Planetary Sciences in this project.

The two mobile radars include a polarimetric Doppler weather radar that volumetrically samples storms that pass within 60 km of its deployment site and a continuous frequency-modulated radar that collects vertical profiles of the atmospheric boundary layer throughout the experiment period. Further detail on the radar instrumentation is available here. Current and past radar observations for VORTEX-SE are available here.

Two students won best paper awards during the recent 96th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society in New Orleans, LA. Sheila Werth presented "Evaluating Parameters for Species-Based Classification of Bird Radar Echoes for Wind Energy Site Assessment" in the Seventh Conference on Weather, Climate, Water and the New Energy Economy. Her paper won Best Oral Presentation in the student paper competition. Aditya Nagarajan presented "On Learning Patterns Between GPS Derived Precipitable water fields and Radar Reflectivity Fields” which won Second

Prof. Paul Siqueira is one of 15 scientists selected by NASA to serve on the Science Definition Team of a $600-million collaborative mission between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). In a meeting in Toronto on September 30, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and K. Radhakrishnan, chairman of ISRO, signed two documents to launch a NASA-ISRO satellite mission to observe Earth and establish a pathway for future joint missions to explore Mars.

Announcing a MIRSL reunion "The First Ten Years" this October 12, 2014. Please join us! Tentative agenda is MIRSL tour, meet and greet with current students, and lunch around noon, afternoon softball game, dinner at Bub's BBQ, and ... We hope to see many, or at least a few, graduates from the 80's and 90's, but all MIRSL alumni are welcome. See the Facebook page for